Statisticians Are Key to Business Growth and Innovation

Analyzing large data sets will become a key basis of competition, underpinning new waves of productivity, growth and innovation, says a new report published last week by the McKinsey Global Institute. But they caution that managers must grasp the principles of data analytics and be able to ask the right questions if they are to benefit from the global data revolution. The report claims that the value to Europe’s public sector could be €250 billion a year with almost half of this coming from operation efficiency improvements. The report also suggests that retailers could increase their operating profit margins by up to 60 percent if only they were able to use their data effectively. The sectors poised to make the most gains include information, finance, insurance, government, manufacturing and healthcare, and the report points to five key ways the effective analysis of data can improve value:

Creating transparency by making data more easily accessible to stakeholders;